caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Black Flags Over Damascus

This moment reminds me of the US celebrating bin Laden and al Queda for ridding Afghanistan of the USSR. Later he declared war on the US. I suspect HTS and al Golani will play out in a similar manner. No matter, the nation state of Syria is no more. Of course it was a post world war (1946) creation itself, although Damascus is quite old. Many scholars believe that, among the ancient cities of the world, Damascus is perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited. Over the centuries, Damascus has been conqueror and conquered, wealthy and destitute, and capital of empire and small states. Sadly it's pluralistic culture is likely to be dissolved. (excellent article)

Afternoon folks!

There's some pretty cool stuff this week. Starting off we've got an early 70's John Lee Hooker album with some really great boogie tunes on it followed by a Stax-era Albert King album. Then it's on to blues-rock with the deluxe 3-disc version of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band's lost session - some great stuff on it. After that there's a Little Feat album and an Alvin Lee & Ten Years Later album. Finishing off, there's a folky Richard Thompson solo acoustic album.

Enjoy the tunes and have a great weekend!

Summing up her detailed review of the "news" of drones flying over New Jersey:

Good morning, good people!

Have you heard anything like this before?

"I need an attorney to help me get my new born baby out of Texas Child Protection Services possession. They took my baby from me as soon as he was born. The baby did not have meth in his system, but I did.

"You see, the man I was living with tried meth once, and some of it dropped onto the floor. I was going to vacuum it up.

"Well, as soon as I turned the vacuum cleaner on, dust was kicked up into my nose. This was the night before I went to the hospital to give birth."

Welcome to Friday Night Photos everyone. Your once a week break from the daily madness of the crazy world we live in. Post any photos, memes, music, or whatever else you find of interest that helps you escape the madness.

Tonight we go back to the Blackhawk Museum. Opened in 1988, the museum was founded with a dedication to celebrating the elegance, craftsmanship, and history of the automobile, and has been devoted to the enjoyment, appreciation, and education of the art form of the automobile.

1939 Hispano-Suiza K6 Cabriolet

As I was sitting at my desktop last night, wondering what I'd write about, I slipped into a daydream of memories. Memories of my youth.

I was swept back to my early childhood in the mid to late fifties, and I soon noticed I was viewing my memories in black and white. That seemed odd, but not really, having grown up in the era of black and white TV. What an idyllic world that was. Time was slow. There was less chaos, well, less chaos in my young mischievous mind anyway. Things were so much simpler. I'm sure many here can relate.

I probably spent a good five minutes in memory land.

It's strange the way a person can drift back in time, like a lucid dream, like a movie.

My most intense of many pet peeves is the way so many frustrated internet voices assume that cable news blather is "believed" by hordes of benighted fellow citizens. Such blather does get echoed across cyberspace, which is my gripe. They pay Rachel Maddow millions of dollars per month to pump out hard-nosed political advocacy for some reason I don't quite understand. Just as I do not understand why anybody takes cable news seriously, on any level.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

Last week I posted a bit about how I don't recognize a lot of today's 'culture' - music stars, movie stars, tv anything...

And then a few days later I found something that inadvertently introduced me to one of the stars of today's music (Coldplay an English band which started in the very late 1990's, heh, yea young!), by using a popular star from my early youth and before: Dick Van Dyke. Yep, he's still here, and he's gonna be 99 tomorrow!

The video was filmed at Van Dyke's house in Malibu. It's really neat to watch Van Dyke dance a bit, to see his enjoyment of life, hear his reflections on things, how happy and amazed he was at Coldplay's Chris Martin's talent and the song he wrote for Van Dyke, and more. Also, I learned about Coldplay and now I'm a fan!